All it Took Was One Dance
by XxLoveWafflesXx
Summary: AU. "You know," I say. "My mask is off. Wouldn't it be fair if I saw my dancing partner?" "I suppose." He says and takes off his mask. Then I saw those crystalline blue eyes that were almost covered with his blonde hair. I gasp. It was Peeta Mellark. The boy who saved my life." R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** _Last night, I was either day-dreaming, or I was having a dream, and I had this idea. Ugh, I feel so cliché... And this includes probably one, maybe two scenes from Another Cinderella story. God, writing this makes me uncomfortable._

_Enjoy... _

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Hunger Games, never did, never will.

* * *

"Oh. My. God. Katniss! Oh, Katniss!" Annie screamed as she ran down the hallway, approaching me and my locker.

"Guess what?" She panted, holding a flyer.

"What." I say, tiredly.

"There's a masquerade ball tonight. At the gym. At 8. Aren't you excited?" She chirps.

"Yes Annie, I'm ecstatic." I say sarcastically. "And why are you so excited?"

"Because Finnick going to be there, duh!" She says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"BOO!" Madge yells while poking my back hard.

"AH! Ow! Stop that!" I yell at her while she's laughing her head off.

"Wow, I can't believe you _still _get scared!" Madge says while laughing more.

She's been doing that ever since we were kids. She's sneaks up on me, pokes me while saying 'Boo!', then pokes my back. And it hurts. A lot.

"Hey guys!" Clove jumps to us.

"Hi." I say unenthusiastically.

"Are you all going to the dance?" She asks. Madge, and Annie say yes, but I say no.

"Oh, come on, Katniss. Pleeaaseee!" She begs.

"No thanks, I don't plan on dancing with people with masks and will definitely not remember me the next day." I say and Annie groans.

"Pwease? For me?" Annie pouts with puppy dog eyes.

"Nah, I'll pass."

"Fine, prepare to be shunned, Katniss Everdeen." Clove says in a Capitol accent.

"Let the shunning…begin!" Madge adds with the same Capitol accent. They turn their backs at me and start ignoring me.

"Fine! I give up, I'll go," I say.

"Yay!" Annie exclaims. "I'll pick you all up at six for dress shopping!"

* * *

"I'm so, so bored!" I complain.

"Come on, Katniss, you'll find a dress you'll like," Annie says, trying to cheer me up. I couldn't find a dress. Too hard to find one that I like.

"Let's just ask the man who works here." Madge suggests. Everyone agrees, while I say 'Yeah, whatever,' grumpily.

"Hello, I'm Cinna." The man says.

"And I'M Portia!" Portia barges in. Cinna blinks.

"How may _we_ help you?" Portia asks.

"We can't find a dress." I say.

"Oh. Pfft, easy. Come, girls!" Portia says, leaving me with Madge.

"I just want something simple," Madge says.

"Here," Cinna pulls out an orange-velvet dress that stops a little above the knees.

"Ooh, pretty." Madge says dreamily. "Your turn, Kat."

Cinna examines me, and I feel awkward. "Come with me," He says. I follow him where there's a hidden rack of fire-y clothes. "Pick one that you like."

I end up choosing a black dress, that's the same length as Madge's, but is strapless, and has sequins that are black, red, yellow, and orange on the top part, and has the same sequins on the edges of the bottom part. So when I twirl, people could think I'm on fire. (**A/N:** _Heh, you see that? I manipulated the Girl on Fire dress… I'm so awesome.)_

Then Cinna put little fire-ish diamond-y gems on my shoulders.

* * *

**At around 7:30…**

* * *

Annie drove us to the dance after we paid for the dresses, but we didn't put them in bags, no. Portia was kind enough to do our hair. (**A/N:** _I'm NOT going to describe their hairstyles like I did for the dresses, no I am not.)_

We looked really pretty, and I'm not one to say something like that.

I'm so happy that I brought a purse with me. I know. _Katniss, that is so not like you to bring a PURSE!_ No, I just brought it to my chapstick and book in there. I was definitely prepared.

When we got inside the gym, I immediately scowled. Too many people; the room is literally humid from all the people dancing. And not only that, I hated my mask. So I took it off.

I instantly walked over to a seat closest to a corner, (Which isn't very close,) and sat down. I pulled out my book and started reading.

But right when I got really into it, some guy was right in front of me.

"Hi." He said. I tried to be polite, and just gave a little wave.

"Whatcha reading?" He asked.

"A book." I smirked.

"Sounds like a good one," He muttered and returned the smirk. "So, you're not dancing?"

"Is it really that obvious?" I said sarcastically and rolled my eyes.

"Nah, I'm not interested in dancing with strangers who have masks. It's a little creepy, if you ask me." I state.

"I'm no stranger," He says. I raise an eyebrow. "Want to dance?" He asks. I think over it for a moment.

"I don't know," I say. I mean, I'm not a bad dancer; I did have tons of dance lessons when I was in junior high. And I'd love to see the expression on Annie's face once I say I actually _danced_ with someone.

"Please?" He begs.

I shrug. "One dance isn't going to kill me," I say, and he smiles.

Before I know it, a super romantic song plays. I groan and he smirks at my reaction.

"You know what? Maybe this 'one dance' will kill me," I grumble. He rolls his eyes and puts his hands on my waist as I put my arms around him. Before I know it, the songs over.

"See, that wasn't that bad…" He says jokingly.

"Maybe not," I reply, but as soon as I do, the DJ announces:

"Hey there, everyone. Having a good night?" He says into the microphone. Everyone cheers but me and Mr. Anonymous. "Yeah! Who's ready for a little tango action?" Everyone cheers again, except us two.

"You don't have—" I cut him off.

"No, no, it's fine," I say. At first we start doing basic tango moves, but then things get serious. He's fast on his feet, but so am I. I did have dance lessons, and my teacher, Mrs. Trinket said I did a 'marvelous job!' in tango classes.

We both move swiftly to the music. Then we both stop as the music gets slower and he pulls me in with both arms around me. Little did I know, is that we were in a spotlight and everyone was watching us, and they started cheering once my leg went all the way up.

"What was that?" He asked. I shrugged.

"I guess the music speaks to me." We both continue moving swiftly as we put our little twists to it. He's an amazing dancer. There are no words to describe how graceful he and I are in this dance.

The song ends and we get a huge round of applause. I blush from everyone's cheering.

Later, they lose interest and the DJ plays club music that I have no interest dancing to and the crowd is oblivious to us.

"You're a pretty good dancer," He compliments.

"You're not too bad yourself," I say. He shrugs.

"You know," I say. "My mask is off. Wouldn't it be fair if I saw my dancing partner?"

"I suppose." He says and takes off his mask.

Then I saw those crystalline blue eyes that were almost covered with his blonde hair.

I gasp.

It was Peeta Mellark. The boy who saved my life.

The next day was a holiday, so we had the day off. And I was glad. I owed Peeta enough already, and I didn't want to face him.

How did he save my life, you ask? Well, it was simple. One day, my friends and I were walking back home from the movies. Walking to my house, since I don't have a car. So we were patiently waiting for the screen thing to show the walking person (Or whatever that's called, I don't really care,). And once it showed, Annie, Clove, Madge and I started walking with a bunch of other people. Of course, I wore flip-flops since, well, you don't really _dress up_ to go the movies.

So then, my shoe came off. "Um, guys, hold on a second," I say. Trying to put on my shoe again. Of course, they didn't hear me. There was only fifteen seconds left. So as soon as I put it on, I started walking again, when all of the sudden, a drunk driver came and was about to run me over. _Run! _I thought to myself. But no, I couldn't move because of the shock I was in.

That's where Peeta comes in. He pushes me out of the way, and ended up getting a broken leg. He could've lost it, but the Capitol workers at the hospital fixed it. He told me 'it's no biggie,' but it was. He saved my life, and got hurt by doing so.

He didn't have to, I mean, I barely even knew the guy. Sure we were in the some of the same classes since we were little, but I barely knew him.

I slammed my face against the pillow and started groaning.

Madge was my neighbor, and we both always kept our windows open so we could see each other, since our rooms were visible to each other. So of course, she saw me.

"Whoa, you okay, Kitty Kat?" She said.

I groaned against the pillow again in response.

"FaceTime me!" She yelled. We both have an iPhone 4S, so we could FaceTime each other anytime we wanted.

So I called her, and she immediately answered.

"What's wrong with you? You've been so depressed ever since last night…" She says.

"Remember Peeta?" I say.

"Mellark?" I nod. "The one who saved your life?" I nod again. "What's wrong, do you like him?" How dare she accuse me of something like that?

"Madge, no! He was the one dancing with me last night!" I tell her. She opens her mouth.

"Oh. OH. Okay, I get it. You still feel guilty." She says. I nod again.

"Well, did _he_ ask _you_ to dance?" She asks.

"Yes," I say slowly. She snickers.

"He likes you…" Madge says teasingly. "And you like him back…"

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA. Madge, I. Do. _Not._"

"All I heard was I. Do." She teases. I groan again and press End Call.

I don't like anyone, and I never will! Not after I lost my father and my mother got into that state of oblivion. I feel so confused.

"UGH!" I slammed my face against the pillow again.

* * *

**A/N: **_I was going to make this a one-shot… But nahh, I'm probably not capable of doing that. LOL. Yup, hope you enjoyed my cliché-y-ness. Review, pwease! _


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **_Wow! 7 reviews already? You guys are fantastic. :)_

_**peeta lover XD- (**__I absolutely adore your name, btdubbs.) Yeah, I would've killed myself too. LOL. I was going to make it longer, but I couldn't since I had places to go, people to see.. Lawl:P_

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own the Hunger Games, this amazing trilogy belongs to Suzanne Collins._

* * *

_**Previously…**_

"_He likes you…" Madge says teasingly. "And you like him back…" _

"_Whoa, whoa, WHOA. Madge, I. Do. Not."_

"_All I heard was I. Do." She teases. I groan again and press End Call._

_I don't like anyone, and I never will! Not after I lost my father and my mother got into that state of oblivion. I feel so confused._

"_UGH!" I slammed my face against the pillow again._

* * *

**The Next Day at School…**

"Is he there?" I whisper. I was currently sneaking around the school, making sure Peeta couldn't see me.

I didn't want to see him, and I didn't want him to see me. Boom, now it's official.

Annie rolled her eyes at me. "No, it's one hundred percent Peeta free." But I still cautiously looked around and took careful steps. "You know, you can't avoid him forever,"

"I can if I want to." I tell her. She sighs.

I opened my locker and shoved my books in there, then closed it. But I saw Peeta a few lockers down.

"Get me out of here!" I whisper loudly to Annie.

"No, you're staying here." Then I see Peeta walking towards us.

"Come on!" I say.

"No." She replies.

"Hey, Katniss, Annie."

"Hi Peeta." Annie greets.

"Hi." I grumble. "How's your leg?" I ask.

"Better. But every now and then it aches from the pain. But it doesn't hurt too much." He answers. "Well, you saw me dance yesterday." I blush.

"Why'd you do it?" I ask.

"What, dance with you? Well, I—"

"No, save my life." I interrupt.

"Well, I wasn't going to stand there and watch you get killed." He says. _True. So that doesn't necessarily mean that he likes me! But wait, he did ask me to dance with him… _

"What's your next class?" He asks.

"Free period." I say.

"Oh, me too." He says.

"Not me though, so I better get going." Annie says. "Have fun, you two." She winks at me. I scowl at her.

"So, what do you want to do?" He asks.

"Look, I'm not looking for a relationship currently, so don't even bother." I tell him.

"Whoa, who said relationship? I meant as friends." He says.

"Fine." I say. "Let's go behind the school, where it's quiet." I suggest.

"Sounds good."

* * *

"So, what's your favorite color?" He asks.

"Why do you want to know?" I say coolly.

"Because friends know each other's favorite colors." He replies.

"Fine. Green." I tell him. "What's yours?"

"Orange."

"Orange? Like Ms. Gold's wig?" I say skeptically. He laughs. Ms. Gold is our math teacher from the Capitol. And she wears a bright orange wig.

"No, no. Soft, like the sunset." He explains.

"Oh. That's cool." I comment. "So, who are all your other friends?"

"Finnick, Gale, Thresh, and Marvel. Who're yours?"

"Annie, Clove, and Madge."

"All Finnick talks about is Annie, Annie, Annie." Peeta says.

I raise my eyebrows. "That's the same with Annie. And every sentence Annie says has to do with Finnick." He grins.

"We need to put them together." He says.

"You think?"

"Mhm. They clearly like each other so it would make sense for them to go out." I nod slowly.

"Meet me after school, we could talk about it later." He says. "Here's my number. So call me maybe?" I roll my eyes. I give him my number. I ask him a question I never thought I'd ask to Peeta.

"Do you have FaceTime?"

"Yes. Just use that number to call me on it." I nod.

"Same for me,"

"Well, I'll see you later." He says.

"See you later."

We both walk off to our classes.

* * *

My next class is English, but I don't really pay attention since there is one thing on my mind. _Peeta Mellark. _

_Does he like you? He just wants to be friends with you. But usually, when guys do that, it's because they want to be closer to girls. Remember Katniss, no relationships! But then again… NO! No relationships! Just don't look at those blue eyes that are bluer than the ocean, his golden hair, his muscles that show through his T-Shirt—Stop it! Snap out of it, Everdeen. _

And class is over. And my next class is Panem History. With Peeta and Finnick. At least I'll have Clove and Annie with me. They won't bug me like Madge does.

The teacher, starts talking about how amazing the Capitol is, and how we should be so grateful to them. Then he goes back to North America and how it got destroyed by all the wars and such. But I zone out.

I look at Peeta. He's two rows in front of Annie, and Annie is sitting on the right side of me. So at least I can see him.

Apparently, he can feel my eyes on him. So he turns back and looks in my direction, but I look away and keep a stone-faced expression. I look out the corner of my eye, and see that he shrugs, and looks forward again. I mentally face palm myself.

* * *

When I go home, I head on the computer. But then I realize I'm supposed to call Peeta. _I'll do that later._

So I go on Facebook.

_'Hey, are you all going to that party Friday night?' _Annie posted.

I look at the comments.

_'I am.' _Finnick commented.

_':D' _ Was Annie's simple message.

_'Me too :3' _Clove wrote.

I write a comment. _'I don't think I'll go.'_

Almost instantly, a new comment appears.

_'Come on, please Katniss?' _Annie writes.

I shake my head 'no.'

_'Nope. Sorry.' _I write.

_'Suit yourself.' _Clove wrote once again. And that was the end of our little conversation.

I click back and go on my wall. Something catches my eye.

_'New Friend Request: Peeta Mellark'_

All of a sudden, I get really happy. Why am I happy? It's just a friend request. I click accept.

I go on his wall and see that he's updated his 'Likes' on his info page. He added '_gray eyes.' _I immediately blush and log off.

_I have gray eyes! He likes me! No, no, no, no, no, no! _I'm kind of frustrated now, but at the same time, I'm pleased and happy. _But why? I don't like him! Do I? NO! I don't. Stop talking like that!_

I remember I have to call him. So I grab the piece of paper that he gave me and call him on FaceTime.

Almost immediately, it says '_connecting…'_

"Hi." He says.

"Hi. Gray eyes?" I ask, regretting it.

"What do you—Oh, that. Well, they're unique, and pretty, like you." He says and I blush. _He's flirting with me! _

"Thanks," I say. _Do you like me? _I want to ask. _'Cause I like you. A lot. NO! I DON'T. STOP. THINKING. THAT! Urgh!_

"Peeta, I have a question," I say.

"Kay, shoot."

"Do you like m—Mozart?" I ask blushing. I was about to ask 'do you like me?' But I failed.

"Mozart? Um, yeah, I guess." He looks confused. "Why, do you?"

Be cool. Stay cool. "Yeah, I play some of his songs on the piano."

"Oh, that's really cool." He compliments.

"Um, thanks." I say. _Just yank off the band-aid!_

"Peeta, do you like me?" I ask quickly.

His eyes are wide from shock. It's his turn to blush.

"As friends, yes," He says.

"N-No, I-I m-mean more than f-friends." I stutter.

"Oh. Um. Yes…" He says quietly. He's a dark red now.

"Okay. That's all I needed to know. Thanks." I say.

He presses 'End Call' before I do.

Madge sees me out her window.

"HIYA KAT!" She yells. I wave.

"Peeta likes me!" I shout. She grins.

"I told you!" She shouts back.

"And you _still _don't like him?" She yells.

"I don't know, I'm so confused!"

"Don't worry, this is normal big girl stuff. I'll help you through it." I nod.

* * *

**A/N: **_Hi guys! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, alerted, favorited, (or favorited me as their author. :DD) or just read this story! Thank you all! And thanks to my Spring Break readers. 51 reviews! Already!__  
_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **_I've already updated two stories today, so I'm like "I might as well update another story…" I thought about it, then I'm like, "Ehh, why not?" LOL. Besides, I'm sorry I haven't updated in super long, so please forgive me. Enjoy the chapter. _

**Dislclaimer: **_I don't own the Hunger Games. The story is mine, although the characters are not._

* * *

_**Previously…**_

_Madge sees me out her window. _

"_HIYA KAT!" She yells. I wave._

"_Peeta likes me!" I shout. She grins._

"_I told you!" She shouts back. _

"_And you still don't like him?" She yells._

"_I don't know, I'm so confused!"_

"_Don't worry, this is normal big girl stuff. I'll help you get through it." I nod._

* * *

In just a couple of minutes, Madge is in my room.

"Wha—? How did you—?" I try to say.

"I opened the door, and I entered your room. Duh." She looked at me like I'm crazy. But you know what? I think I am crazy. I've been so confused lately, I'm losing my mind.

She bit her lip, and right when I thought she was about to say something important, she said, "You look like a mess."

"Thanks, I feel better now." I rolled my eyes. She grinned.

"We need to build a bridge." She says seriously.

"What?"

"A bridge. From your window, to my window. It'll speed up the process of going to each other's houses!"

"You're such a weirdo, Madge." I shake my head.

"I do my best." She chuckles. "Now unto more important matters," I sigh. "Let's talk about Peeta. What do you think of him?" She sits down and crosses her legs with a notebook in her lap in a pen gripped in her hand so she can write answers. What is she, a therapist?

I might as well play along so I lay my entire body straight on my bed.

"We're barely friends! He just danced with me that one night, and… I don't know," I say as she writes my answer down. "I wish he never danced with me that night."

"_Wishes…he…never…danced…with…you." _Madge says as she writes. "Okay, and what did you think before he danced with you?"

"Just another face in the crowd." I state.

"Mhmm. Wait… But he's been in almost _all _of your classes since _kindergarten_! How are you _now_ noticing him?" She asks loudly.

"Well, I… I don't know. I'm not very social."

"Well, I know that." Madge mutters under her breath. "Didn't you two ever say 'hi!' or something? Surely, you two had a conversation before," I bite my cheek. "Oh, my gosh, Katniss! You haven't?" I shake my head 'no.'

She lets out a frustrated groan. "He's one of the nicer boys! Do you know how rare it is to find a nice _boy?_" Madge exclaims making a lot of hand gestures. She face-palms herself, then sighs.

"Okay, we're having another session tomorrow, but with Clove." Madge says finally.

"But—"

"No buts! Another session, tomorrow, _with Clove!"_ She says marching out of my room. Then door slams shut and I just curl up into a ball, as it turns to night.

* * *

_**The Next Day, at School… (Two classes have already gone by…)**_

"Okay, Katniss, I've had enough." Annie says. "You need to stop avoiding him! He's not even here today!"

I stare at her blankly.

"He's… absent?" I say confused.

"Yes," She sighs.

"Oh." Is all I say. "Okay, then."

* * *

"Take your seats, everyone!" Ms. Gold chirps. "We have much to learn!"

I find myself not listening. Just doodling in my notebook pictures of teachers in silly outfits and all of them with silly mustaches. Why I drew them like that, I really don't know.

The door opened, and guess who came through. Of course, no other than Peeta Mellark.

"Ah, Mr. Mellark," Ms. Gold sighs, since her lesson was interrupted.

"Sorry I'm late," He apologizes, and hands her a note. She takes it and her eyes widen bigger and bigger the more she reads it.

"Oh, you poor boy." She says and gives him a sympathetic look. He looks at the ground like he's remembering something. Like a tragic memory.

"Go take a seat, I'll let this pass because of…" She tries to think of the right words to say. "_Your situation_. But next time, come to class _on time._" She says slowly. He nods and takes a seat behind me.

I'm in the second to last row, and he's now sitting behind me, in the last row. Great. Just great.

I sigh a loud sigh, just not loud enough for people that aren't near me to hear.

I continue drawing, but this time on a new page. I draw a picture of a house.

It's a cute house, really, like those houses you would see '_Fancy Living' _on the Capitol Channel.

Then I drew a picture of Ms. Gold in the background, but really giant, with her saying "RAWR!" except their no speech bubble, her mouth is just open like she's just saying the middle of the word, and she's throwing millions of lightning bolts down the house.

My drawing is very amusing, really.

"Ms. Everdeen, pay attention." Ms. Gold says. Everyone looks at me, but I don't really notice.

"Ms. Everdeen…" Ms. Gold says firmly. I still don't notice.

"Ms. Everdeen!" She shouts. I jolt up. "What are you even doing?" She says walking as fast as she can towards me in ten inch heels.

She picks up the notebook, and looks at the picture of her throwing down lightning bolts at innocent people's houses.

Her face is filled with shock, anger, and disappointment.

"Ms. Everdeen, principal's office, _now!" _She says, fierce. I just shrug and get out the classroom.

"Oh, but before you leave, _Katniss_, should I show everyone your little piece of 'art'?" I open my mouth to speak, but she quickly interrupts. "Oh, I think I shall."

She turns on her projector, and puts the picture under so everyone can see it.

They all start cracking up, and I smile, trying to hold back a laugh. I glance over at Peeta and see that he's laughing too.

When everyone stops, I say, "Isn't it just, magnificent?" They all chuckle and I see Ms. Gold is redder than a tomato. That's when I take my drawing and figure that's the best time for me to leave.

So I walk to the principal's office.

The thing is, I like our principal. He's cool, and he insists that I don't call him Mr. Abernathy, but Haymitch.

Yup, we're on a first name basis.

"Ah, what brings you here _this time_ Everdeen?" Haymitch smirks. He chugs down a drink. I show him the picture.

"Ms. Gold caught me drawing a picture. She saw it, and, well let's just say that she wouldn't approve it in an art gallery." He sees it and chuckles.

He hands me a slice a pizza which I gladly take. "Thanks." He nods.

Haymitch is always nice with me. He's been like a second father to me, ever since my actual father died… But Haymitch always lets me have a snack every time I make a visit here.

"So, do you mind if I make a copy to hang it in my office?" I snort and he lets out a small laugh.

"I don't see why not." I grin.

Ten minutes go by and we're just hanging around lazily in his office. "Okay, Everdeen, you better head back to class." He finally says playing with a paddleball. I groan.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes. Now get out of here." He smiles. I roll my eyes and walk back to class, notebook in my hand.

"What took you so long, Ms. Everdeen?" Ms. Gold demands as I take a seat.

"Oh, you know, just eating pizza with the principal, hanging out, nothing much." I say simply. Ms. Gold, and everyone else in the classroom's jaws drop.

I hear people murmuring, "Lucky!" And "Pizza? Great, now I'm hungry."

"Are you serious? He didn't punish you in any way?" She says, disappointed.

"He didn't do a thing." I tell her. "Like I said, we ate pizza, hung out, stuff like that." She walks off and continues teaching. So I pretend I listen and I hear Peeta chuckling. I smile to myself.

* * *

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, **blah. **School goes by fast, and suddenly, I'm at home.

I look out my window and see that Madge actually put a little bridge that connects my house to hers. I'm actually impressed. Well done, Madge.

I turn around and see that Clove is _right there, _smirking.

"AHH! Gosh, Clove, you scared me!" She grins.

"Good, that's what I was going for." She chuckles. "Now, on to our little therapy session." She says and throws her backpack to the far corner of my room.

"Soo… I'm bored. I don't even know why Madge asked me to do this."

"Then don't."

"Good idea." She says smiling. "Goodbye, then." I give her a half wave. She grabs her backpack then leaves.

_Well, that was pointless_… I think.

My thoughts are interrupted by a call.

'Peeta Mellark wants to FaceTime.' … 'Accept or Ignore'.

* * *

**A/N: **_Kind of a cliff-hanger? Just not exactly. Again, sorry for not updating in so long. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Review!_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **_Ah, so you've come back for more :P Are you all wondering what Peeta's situation was? Well, let's just say that it's kind of obvious, just kind of…not. It will be revealed very soon in this chapter. Like, VERY soon. _

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own the Hunger Games. The story is mine, although the characters are not._

* * *

_**Previously…**_

"_Soo… I'm bored. I don't even know why Madge asked me to do this." _

"_Then don't."_

"_Good idea," She says smiling. "Goodbye, then." I give her a half wave. She grabs her backpack then leaves._

_**Well that was pointless…**__ I think._

_My thoughts are interrupted by a call._

'_Peeta Mellark wants to FaceTime'. … 'Accept or Ignore'._

* * *

I bit my cheek. A habit I just can't get rid of.

So what if he likes me, we're still just friends. I tap '_Accept'._

'_Connecting…' _

Peeta's face shows up on the screen. He has a black eye, some cuts, and bruised arms.

"Oh my God, Peeta, what happened?" I shout in shock. Shout in shock, shout in shock, shout in shock. _Oh, shut it Katniss._ I think. I'm losing my mind.

He clears his throat, looks around, then says, "I can't tell you—not yet, just—let me get out of the house first." I nod slowly.

I examine his bruises and cuts, and see they're worse than I thought. The cuts are very deep, which will undoubtedly leave scars. His bruises look like they'll last a month or so since their very big, and thankfully, his black eye isn't too bad.

I see that he's running, running to get away from the house. His clear blue eyes show hurt. Once he sees he's far enough, he rests at a chair by a park, but winces before he sits.

"So, what happened?" I ask with concern._ You're being selfish!_ _He has bruises, a black freaking eye, and you're just trying to get an answer out of him? What's wrong with you?_ I think. _Well, I need to know if he's okay, at least… What's wrong with __**YOU?**_A part of my brain snaps back. What the…? _Just shut up!_ I think-say to the other thoughts. It's official. I've lost my mind.

Peeta looks around again; to make sure he's safe or something. Then he finally speaks up. "Katniss," He starts. "My mother beats me. A lot."

Beats him? By a lot, does he mean every day? Is that what that note in class today meant?

"She hates me," He continues. "She beats me practically on a daily basis, I'm lucky just to go a day without getting smacked in the head by a _rolling pin._" What kind of mother does this to her child? _Not a very good one. _For the first time, I actually agree with my thoughts. _Well, of course you agree with your thoughts, you a__**re**__ thinking them. _It tells me. I mentally punch that thought. _Ow! Rude…_

I look at him with worry. "I'm coming over there." I finally say.

"No, you don't have to,"

"_No,_ I'm coming over there," I conclude. "Stay put, I'm going to end this call, and I'll be there." He's silent, so I hope that means he's okay with it...

"PRIM!" I call.

"_Yes, Katniss?" _She yells back.

"You have a new patient."

* * *

Prim examines his wounds, grabs her first aid kit, and treats them carefully. She sprays some anti-bacterial spray on them so he won't get an infection. Then she does a bunch of other stuff that I don't know.

I took a seat next to Peeta and watched Prim as she treated his injuries. She looked at his black eye, pursed her lips, and said, "That's going to be there for a while," He nods. "But not too long, since it's nothing serious—which is good." Peeta gives her a small smile.

"You're probably going to get some headaches, so take these," She hands him something. "Just in case you have a migraine, which is very likely." She gave him _Tylenol_.

"Thanks." Peeta says.

"It was nothing," She shrugs. I smile. "Well, we better get home Katni—" She stops and smirks at me. "… Or I will. You should stay, Katniss, in case the pain comes back, or something…" I scowl at her. She puts her hands up in surrender. "Just… Keep him occupied." I roll my eyes. She waves, and walks off.

Silence.

"I can't believe she does that to you," I whisper, hoping he doesn't hear. He does, though.

"It's fine. I guess it could be worse," He says, looking at me. I shake my head.

"No, it's not fine," I say. "She shouldn't be doing that to you. You should move out."

"I don't know, I guess," He sighs. Who would've guess that the sweet, caring Peeta gets beaten? "My family wouldn't probably notice, no one really needs me." My jaw drops.

"Peeta, don't you dare say that."

"But—"

"Don't you dare!" I interrupt. "You deserve better, really." He smiles, and… I smile back. _Well, would you look at that? Katniss is SMILING! _One of my thoughts think. _No. Way. I didn't even think it was possible!_ The other one says. _Just shut up, you two! _I mentally shout at them. I'm insane.

* * *

_**Three days later…**_

Peeta didn't show up at school today, or the day before, and I'm probably the only person who knows why.

I visit his house every day so far to make sure he's okay. He's getting better, I'll admit that, but occasionally I see a couple, smaller, bruises on his legs.

We have small conversations, usually. Or we sometimes just sit on his couch and watch the TV, and laugh at the foolishness of the Capitol. Like this on show, '_Mahogany!_' It's a weird soap opera, that doesn't really make any sense, but it's entertaining enough.

We also just work on our homework together, since our teachers give me the homework to take to his house.

Madge, still being her annoying self, thinks I like him. I keep telling her we're 'Just friends!' because she doesn't believe a word and says I'm in denial. At least Annie and Clove are mature about it.

Today was different though.

Madge was out of town with her dad—the mayor—and she had to go to District 2 with him on a business trip.

Clove called and said she broke her arm earlier this morning and had to go to the hospital.

Annie was present, though, but I couldn't hang out with her after school because she had to go meet with the swim team. That and the fact that we don't go to the same classes together.

Which left me all alone.

When I came over Peeta's house not too long ago, we did our usual routine; do homework, watch TV, his dad making us dinner, talk a little bit. But today, Peeta wanted to do something different.

"Want to go swimming?" He asked with a grin. I gave him a confused look. "What? We have a pool," I raised an eyebrow.

I finally gave in and said sure.

"Okay, fine. Just let me go home and grab my swimming suit." I tell him.

"Okay." He says with a smile.

So, I do as I say and put on a simple, aqua, bikini. I put on some sunglasses, let my hair down, put on a t-shirt and some shorts, and slip on some flip-flops.

I walked back to Peeta's house. He's already ready, but he _did_ live here, so of course he changes faster. _Oh, congratulations! You actually figured something out! _One of my thoughts told me. _Quick, somebody, give her a trophy. _I rolled my eyes at my thoughts. My own thoughts insulting me. This is a problem.

He's wearing black swimming trunks with and a gray t-shirt, with sunglasses on his head, flip flops, and two towels in his arms.

"Ready?" He asks.

"Yup."

* * *

We go through the living room area by the kitchen, where his mom is at. She scowls at Peeta and I. And I scowl back. She gives me a death glare, which doesn't really scare me. I've seen scarier.

Peeta opens a door and we go outside his backyard. And it's beautiful.

He has a really big pool and surprisingly a very big hot tub. There are some chairs to relax or tan in on the sides, with an amazing view of mountains with a forest underneath.

I sigh in relief, and take off my shirt and shorts and immediately hop in the hot tub.

All this confusion and craziness has really been stressing me out.

Peeta takes off his shirt and joins me in the hot tub.

_Don't look at his body, don't look at his body, _I tell myself. _No! Look! Please, Katniss, you're killing me here. _One of my thoughts says. I roll my eyes again and chuckle.

"Ahh," I moan and go under the hot water a little bit.

"Enjoying yourself?" Peeta smirks. I nod.

"I've been really stressed lately, so this is nice." I say closing my eyes and start floating on my back.

"Really?" Peeta questions. "How come?"

"I've been a little confused lately," I say. "And I'm going crazy." I add. He chuckles.

"Why confused?"

"Just… things." I can't tell him why, when it has to do with him. He can't tell I really don't want to talk about it, so he lets that pass.

"Crazy?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Yes, crazy!" I say. "I'm seriously losing my mind and sanity."

"Oh, really?"

"Is it normal for my own thoughts to insult and mock everything I do? Without me controlling it, or even meaning for it to happen?"

"No, not really," Peeta laughs. _Aw, his laugh is adorable!_ One of my thoughts say… No, it wasn't. It was _me _who thought that, not the insane part of my brain. No, no, no. I didn't think that, it was just the random-thought-people intruding my brain.

"I just really needed to relax a bit," I tell him, opening my eyes and looking at the clouds. I start laughing.

"You okay?" He says with a puzzled expression. I stop lying on my back and sit down on those little seats in the tub.

"I don't really know." I say in a serious tone. "Madge and Clove have been trying to give me therapy sessions, and I think Annie might, too." He laughs.

"But then again, it's Madge, so..." I snort.

Then we both lie on our backs, and shut our eyes, and I actually find myself drifting off into sleep. But just after a couple seconds of sleep, I'm under the water.

I just woke up, so I accidently breathe in water, and I'm not even holding my breath. I start screaming, and trying to swim up to the top, but I also start drowning.

Peeta swims down, sees me, grabs and pulls me to the surface. I gasp and begin breathing heavily. He pulls me into a hug and tries to calm me down. I hear him say things like, "Katniss! Are you okay?" "You're fine, it's okay, you're safe," and "I'll never let that happen to you again." I eventually start breathing normally and relax in his arms.

I look up to him and smile sincerely. "Thanks," I whisper. He smiles back.

"Anything for you," I blush at his words, and he hugs me just a little tighter, but it doesn't hurt, and I'm not uncomfortable with the fact that I'm so close to him, nor the fact that I know he likes me. "Want to get out?" I nod.

I grab a towel and start drying myself off, and then I sit down in one of those chairs by the pool. Peeta does the same. I lie down for a bit until I start feeling dry. I rub my eyes and yawn, since I'm so tired. Peeta notices. "Tired?" I nod. "Yeah, me too. But that was fun, other than what happened."

"Thanks again, by the way," I say. This is the second time Peeta saved my life. And I owe him even more.

* * *

**The next day…**

I guess Peeta and I have become best friends over the past few days, which is pretty fast, but I'm okay with it. Madge is back, I was the first to sign Clove's cast, and Annie's not with the swim team today.

I'm just _this close_ to sleep when I hear breathing. It's Madge.

I see she's been using that bridge.

I pretend I'm sleeping, until I throw a pillow at Madge's face. "Madge! What the heck?" I scream at her.

"First of all, _ow!"_ She rubs her jaw, where I had hit her. "Second of all, I was bored, so I wanted hang out with you…"

"Oh. Sorry." I apologize.

"Nah, it's fine," She says. "So, what have you been up to since I've been gone?" She asks with an evil smirk.

"I've been hanging out with Peeta." I say simply.

"Oh, _really?" _She grins. "What'd you do?"

I can't tell her I've been taking care of Peeta while he had all those cuts and injuries, so I just say, "Oh, you know, just homework, TV, swimming,"

"Was that all?" I threw another pillow at her.

"Gosh, Madge just shut up already." She laughs.

"Okay, well, I'll be going back home now," She tells me. "BYE-E!" I wave.

She exits out my window and goes on her little bridge and through her window.

_Oh, Madge._ I think. _Oh, come on, she's not __**that**__ weird compared to you!_ The other thought says. The first one snickers. _**Shut. Up.**_I tell the two.

I'm losing it.

* * *

**A/N: **_Lol, I'm kind of basing Madge one of my best friends :) XD Anyways, so I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please review! _


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **_Oh. My. Goodness. 74 REVIEWS FOR SPRING BREAK! I never thought this would happen! LOL. I thought I'd get like, twenty reviews, but nothing more but __**74!**__ Wow! You guys are amazing. :{D_

_Okay, okay, I better settle down. So, I was reading last chapter when I noticed something… A mistake. I meant to write, '__**He **__**can**__** tell I really don't want to talk about it, so he lets that pass.' **__It's underlined because THAT was the mistake. I bet you all were confused when I accidently put 'can't' instead of 'can'. Oh, well…_

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own the Hunger Games, and I'm not making any money from writing this._

* * *

_**Previously…**_

_She exits out my window and goes on her little bridge and through her window. _

_**Oh, Madge.**__ I think. __**Oh, come on, she's not **__**that**__** weird compared to you! **__The other thought says. The first one snickers. __**Shut. Up.**_ _I tell the two. _

_I'm losing it._

* * *

"Katniss! Oh, _Katniss!" _Madge called out. I groaned. I turned around in my bed to face her.

"What." I said, not in the mood to be talked to.

"We must name our bridge!" She exclaimed. "I was thinking… _'Tunnel to Narnia!'"_

"But… it's not a tunnel… and it doesn't go anywhere near Narnia…" I say in a small voice.

"And you're name is Katniss. And you're clearly not a cat that takes a piss." Madge reasons.

"_Madge…"_ I say, with a warning look that reads _'say-anything-like-that-again-and-I-will-shoot-an-arrow-through-your-head-in-the-night' _look.

"Hehe, sorry," She smiles. "Anyways, you have a new therapy session today."

"With who?" I ask, expecting to hear 'Annie.'

"Oh, you'll see later," Madge grins evilly.

"Um. Okay."

* * *

**At School…**

"Hey, Katniss." Peeta greets with a grin, as we quickly walk to Ms. Gold's class.

I. Laugh.

Out of _all _the things I could've done, I laughed.

Why couldn't I have done what a _normal_ person does and greeted him back politely, or even just smile at him. But _noo!_ Because I laughed.

He gives me an odd look, and then probably remembers that I told him '_I'm going crazy!'_ yesterday.

"Sorry… uh, hi." I say with a shy smile.

"Hi, again." He looks like he knows something… Something I don't know…

I'm about to ask _what_ when Ms. Freakyface (Or Ms. Gold. I prefer Ms. Freakyface.) yells at us saying, "Mr. Mellark, and Ms. Everdeen, why are you both late to my class? I expect this behavior coming from _you_ Ms. Everdeen, but certainly not Peeta!"

She continues rambling on about why we shouldn't be late to class and such, when I interrupt, "You know what? I think I'll just sit down now." Ms. Freakyface glares at me evilly. _Oh, my God, I'm SOO scared!_ One of my thoughts speaks sarcastically. I actually laugh, _out loud. _ And people start giving me weird looks. Even Ms. Freakyface. But not Peeta, since he knows why.

"Oh, um, sorry." I say, mentally facepalming myself.

I sigh heavily, and everyone goes back to the lesson. Everyone but me, and Peeta.

He passes me a note.

_'Dear Katniss,_

_Hi._

_From, Peeta.'_

I give him a weird look, and he just shrugs. I write back.

_'Dear Peeta,_

_Why the letter format?_

_From, Katniss.'_

He reads it over, rolls his eyes, and begins writing.

_'Dear Katniss,_

_Because I can. And you've already replied in letter format too, so I guess we're staying that way._

_From, Peeta.'_

I raise an eyebrow.

_'Dear Peeta,_

_Okay._

_From, Katniss.'_

He looks triumphant, then writes again.

_'Dear Katniss,_

_Letters are so much cooler, anyway._

_From, Peeta.'_

_Letters __**are **__cooler. _I think to myself. _Oh, Katniss, sweetie, everything's cooler…than you. _I can almost hear the thought smirk. _Oh, is that so?_ I mentally tell 'it'. _Indeed. _'It' replies. _Just ignore it._ I tell myself again, in a way that it won't hopefully hear. And thankfully, it doesn't respond.

_'Dear Peeta,_

_True dat. Agh, I'm so bored, and so tired of hearing Ms. Freakyface speak!_

_From, Katniss.'_

Peeta then raises an eyebrow at me.

_'Dear Katniss,_

_Agh? Ms. Freakyface? *shakes head*_

_From, Peeta.'_

I chuckle.

_'Dear Peeta,_

_Clearly you don't understand that to me, Ms. Gold, looks like a Ms. Freakyface. And 'agh' is a word I use in frustration. Duh._

_From, Katniss.'_

_Clearly_... I think.

_'Dear Katniss,_

_'Agh' isn't a word. And she does look like a Ms. Freakyface!_

_From, Peeta.'_

I can just hear Peeta grin.

_'Dear Peeta,_

_In my world, 'Agh' is a word. And doesn't she?_

_From, Katniss.'_

Ms. Freakyface keeps talking and talking and talking about the joy of math... Well, it's better than actually _doing the math._

_'Dear Katniss,_

_Well, in the real world, 'agh' isn't a word. And yes she does._

_From Peeta.'_

What? Now she's talking about the luxurious spas in the Capitol...? In math?

But I write a reply to Peeta's letter, because I need to prove to him that 'agh', is indeed a word. But instead I write...

_'Dear Peeta,_

_Shut up. (:_

_From Katniss.'_

I saw Peeta grin at me, and I… grinned back.

_'Dear Katniss,_

_Did… You… Just… Grin?! Katniss Everdeen just grinned, everybody!_

_From, Peeta.'_

I scoff and write back.

_'Dear Peeta,_

_That's Princess Katniss Everdeen I to you mister!_

_From, Princess Katniss Everdeen I.'_

He writes back quickly.

_'Dear Princess Katniss Everdeen I,_

_Then I'm Prince Peeta Mellark I. Does this make me your knight in shining armor?_

_Sincerely, Prince Peeta Mellark I.'_

_As if_, I think.

_'Dear Prince Peeta Mellark I,_

_No, it does not make you my knight in shining armor. And I can't get over how Prince Peeta sounds, it's actually kind of cute! :)_

_Sincerely, Queen Katniss Everdeen of Narnia.'_

_'Dear Queen Katniss Everdeen of Narnia,_

_Oh, so I can't be your knight in shining armor, but Prince Peeta sounds… Cute?! Princess Katniss Everdeen I, with all due respect, I don't think we should be passing notes anymore… It's changing you… And really? Queen Katniss Everdeen of Narnia?_

_From, King Peeta Mellark of Sesame Street._

_P.S., By the way... you think I'm cute now, huh? *Wiggles Eyebrows*'_

I turn around and look at him and shake my head 'no'.

_'Dear Peeta,_

_Aw. *Tear* …. King Peeta Mellark of Sesame Street?_

_From, Katniss._

_..._

_No.'_

"Katniss, what's three plus three?" Ms. Gold asks.

"FOUR!" I exclaim.

"Correct! Now do you see why purple nail polish is the best, students?" They all moan 'yes' and Ms. Freakyface grins.

Peeta then writes...

_'What happened to the medieval names?' Peeta wrote._

'_Well, what happened to our letter format?'_ I write back.

_'Dear Katniss,_

_Good point._

_From, Peeta Mellark.'_

_'Dear Peeta,_

_Oh, so you're adding your last name now?_

_From, Katniss Everdeen.'_

_'Dear Katniss Everdeen,_

_Yup._

_From, Peeta Mellark.'_

_'Dear Peeta Mellark,_

_Cool._

_From, Katniss Everdeen._

_'Dear Katniss Everdeen,_

_Mhm._

_From, Peeta Mellark.'_

_'Dear Peeta Mellark,_

_Want to get in trouble?_

_From Katniss Everdeen.'_

_'Dear Mischievous-Katniss-Everdeen,_

_No... I don't know, why?_

_From, Peeta Mellark.'_

_'Dear Never-Gets-In-Trouble-Mellark,_

_Because we can hang out in the principal's office! Trust me, it's fun!_

_From, Katniss Everdeen.'_

_'Dear Girl-who-is-about-to-get-me-in-trouble,_

_You weren't kidding when you said you were going crazy._

_By the way, I'm just kidding…_

_From, Peeta Mellark.'_

_'Dear Baker Boy,_

_I'm actually the Girl on Fire. You saw the dress I wore to the dance. Wasn't it just… gorgeous?_

_From, Girl on Fire.'_

_'Dear Girl on Fire,_

_Okay, I must admit, that dress was stunning._

_From, Baker Boy._

_P.S., Okay, let's get in trouble then.'_

_'Dear Baker Boy,_

_Wasn't it?_

_From, Girl on Fire._

_P.S., Yay! Be prepared, Mr. Mellark.'_

_'Dear Girl on Fire,_

_It sure was._

_From, Baker Boy._

_P.S., What have I gotten myself into?'_

_'Dear Baker Boy,_

_Just walk to the front of the room, push Ms. Freakyface, then sit back down._

_From, Girl on Fire.'_

_'Dear Katniss,_

_Okay… I trust you…_

_From, Peeta.'_

_'Dear Peeta,_

_You sure about that? *Smirk*_

_From, Katniss.'_

_'Dear Katniss,_

_Definitely. :)_

_From, Peeta.'_

_'Dear Peeta,_

_Okay… Now push her until she falls on her face! I'll meet you outside the classroom._

_From, Katniss.'_

Peeta rolled his eyes, and I grinned.

He walked up to the front of the classroom, where Ms. Gold was showing everyone the map of Panem, when he pushes her. I can't help but laugh, and everyone else does, too.

She gets back up, and too I walk to the front, and I push her. She falls, _again__**.**_

"Grr. Mr. Mellark, Ms. Everdeen, **DETENTION FOR A MONTH!** TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE! **NOW!" **She screams at us.

By now, I expect her to turn into a dragon.

But she doesn't.

I shrug and walk to the Principal's Office with Peeta.

* * *

"Oh _hello_, Everdeen. What'd you do _this time?"_ Haymitch grinned. He looks over to Peeta. "And who's this? You're boyfriend?" He says with mirth in his eyes.

"Wha—? Peeta's not my boyfriend! Why does everyone think that?!"

"Because wouldn't you two make such a cute couple?" He smirks. I scowl at him. "Okay, no need to get angry. Here—have some sushi."

Peeta and I eat our California Rolls happily, and watch the TV screen hanging on his wall, sitting on beanbags. This is not your ordinary Principal's Office.

"So… what happened?" Haymitch asks. "Oh, by the way, _please_ don't call me Mr. Abernathy—Haymitch is fine." He tells Peeta, who nods.

"Eh, we pushed Ms. Freakyface and she landed flat on her face." I shrug.

"Ms. Freakyface?"

"Ms. Gold," Peeta says, the corners of his mouth sticking up.

"Ha!" He grinned. "So you _both _pushed her?"

"Kind of…" I say. "We planned for it to happen when we were in class, via letters." I smile, looking down. Haymitch stares at me. Peeta does the same. "What?" I ask harshly.

"You just… smiled." Haymitch said with shock on his face.

"What?! It's not the first time I've smiled! In fact, I've smiled billions of times!" I turn my back on them, and pout on the couch.

"Was it him?" He points to Peeta, and we both blush at the same time. We're silent. "Ha! It _is_ him, isn't it?"

"Shut up, Haymitch." I mutter, but Haymitch hears me and starts laughing.

After a moment of silence, Peeta asks, "Can we stay here? I don't feel like going to the next classes, not after… It still kind of…" _Hurts. _I know he would say. From his mother beating him, of course.

Haymitch bites his lip. "What are you talkin' about, boy?"

"He's… severely injured." I say, choosing the right words, and Peeta shrugs.

"Oh? How come?" Haymitch asks, this time _demanding_ an answer. I look at Peeta in a way that says, _you-don't-have-to-talk-about-it-if-you-don't-want-to. _He mouths 'I want to.' Then I mouth, 'No!'

I bite my lip. "Family issues." I say.

"That's what that black eye's about?" Peeta nods. "I see. Well, I'll let you and your girlfriend stay here, but just this once! The longer Katniss is here, the less trouble there is in the world," He says, swallowing some of his beer. I blush when he says 'girlfriend.'

"She's not my—" Peeta's cut off.

"Not yet she's not," He smirks.

We roll our eyes and continue eating our sushi.

* * *

School's over, and I'm walking home today. I open the door, shut it, lock it, walk up to my room, and I see something unexpected. Or should I say, some people unexpected.

"Hi!" Madge exclaims.

"What's Peeta doing in my room?" I ask in a harsh manner.

"He's going to give you one of your sessions! I told you someone was coming to help." She grins mischievously. I roll my eyes.

"Just, go on your bridge and get this over with." I groan while dropping my backpack.

"Have fun." She winks at us.

Silence.

"Bridge?" Peeta asks while laughing.

"That's Madge for you. She wanted a bridge so we can 'speed up the process of going to each other's house's'." I explain. "She called it the Bridge to Narnia."

Peeta smirks. "And that's why you called yourself the Queen Katniss Everdeen of Narnia?"

"Shut up." Then he grins.

* * *

"So, when did your... 'crazyness' happen?" Peeta asks with a grin.

"Since... Since... Earlier this month." I say.

"Can you be more specific?"

"No."

"Please?" He says, giving me puppy dog eyes.

"No." I avoid the eyes.

"For me?"

"Fine. After the dance." I mutter.

"O-okay."

"Now, what kind of things do your... 'thoughts' tell you?"

"They're bullies in a brain," I tell him. He chuckles. "They insult me on EVERYTHING I do."

"You sure that's not yourself? Girls are always insecure."

"_Rude!_" I bark at him. He raises his hands in surrender.

"Kidding, kidding. Now back to the session," I nod. "If your 'thoughts' say something mean about you, think something good about you." I nod again. "And your hysterical laughter at random times? Just try to calm down. It's probably because you're nervous about something." I shrug.

"Okay, we're done." He says.

"YAY!"

"Now what do you want to do?" Peeta asks.

Before I can answer, I'm already asleep.

* * *

**A/N: **_Thank you all for your lovely reviews, they are very much appreciated. (:_

_I like when Katniss and Peeta pass notes. My fav part. *heart* _

_Anyways, how awesome would it be to eat sushi with the PRINCIPAL? SUSHI? :{D I highly doubt that would happen in real life, like, __**highly doubt,**__ but a girl can dream! Oh my God, did you hear? Josh is **BLOND AGAIN. BLOND I SAY! EXTREME PEETA-NESS.** :DD**  
**_


	6. Chapter 6

A/N:_It's 4:44 AM! I'm just a little tired :). I haven't updateonion so long (Which I feel horrible about), and I decided, hey! I have nothing else to do! So why not update? Besides, everyone thinks asleep... Well, the jokes on them!_

_..._

_Sorry, I'm a bit delirious..._

_Anyways, if you haven't noticed, I make Katniss sleep very easily. Always. I just figured since she's so stubborn, she'd be one of those people who love to sleep. Like me. Well, except for today._

_I'm not doing the "Previously..." thing for this chapter because I'm trying out the Copy and Paste thing on my iPod, so... yeah._

_Sorry for the the long Authors Note, sorry for keeping you waiting so long._

Disclaimer: I WILL NEVER OWN THE HUNGER GAMES. Enjoy.

* * *

"Annie." I snapped my fingers in front of her face. She didn't move. "Annie." I snapped again. Nothing. "ANNIE." I screamed.

She screamed and started thrashing around on her bed. The expression on my face was probably something like, 'Um. What the heck.'

"Uh, Annie?" I asked.

"Oh, hey, Katniss." She stopped thrashing and screaming, and just sat up straight and grinned at me.

This time, my expression was probably like, '...Uh, did I miss something?'

"Um, okay, I was about to ask if you wanted to go to Starbucks, but you were daydreaming or something..." I say, slowly.

"Oh, yeah, sure, just let me grab my things..." Annie said, taking her purse. "Okay. Lets go."

* * *

"Hey, we should invite Clove and Madge," I suggested, taking a sip of my caramel macchiato.

"Okay." Annie said with a smile.

I texted Clove.

'_Clove, Annie and I are at Starbucks, you want to join us in the sipping of the coffees?'_

She texted back almost immediately. '_Yeah, sure. I'm be there in a few minutes.'_

'Kay.' I typed, then tapped send.

"Did you text Madge?" I asked.

"Yup. Did you text Clove?"

"Yeah." I say. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Mhmm, sure," Annie said, her mouth full of scones.

I just simply shook my head at Annie and her scones. But I must admit—Starbucks has some amazing scones. "What were you," Fake cough. "'Daydreaming' about?"

Annie blushed and smiled a small smile. "Just... Thinking about..." I barely heard what she said; she spoke very quietly.

"What'd you say?"

"I said Finnick, okay?" She said avoiding eye contact. Annie took a sip of her mocha.

"Hey! Look at those cake pops! Mm! Tiramisu!" Annie said, CLEARLY trying to avoid the subject.

But I must say, the tiramisu cake pops here are delicious.

I mentally kicked and punched myself.

How could I let yummy tiramisu cake pops distract me from what's truly important—Annie's love for Finnick.

Naw, the cake pops sound much better. But I'll need to listen; I'm still trying to get the two together.

"You know, Peeta told me that all Finnick talks about is you," I say, smiling to myself rather smugly.

Annie's eyes nearly pop out of her head. "OH MY GOSH, SERIOUSLY? I CAN'T BELIEVE FINNICK TALKS ABOUT ME! Whoo, calm down... I CAN'T CALM DOWN! FINNICK TALKS ABOUT ME! Wait, maybe this is just a lie, or, or, a rumor... OR MAYBE IT ISN'T! EEK! FINNICK TALKS ABOUT ME!" Annie squeals, having her 'little' fangirl moment about Finnick Odair.

I'm not kidding when I say this, I wish I didn't mention that at ALL, because when I did, I promise you, my ears nearly burst. Thanks a lot, Annie!

"I'm he-re!" Madge sang as she sat down.

"Hey, Madge." I said, smiling at her weirdness.

"Guess what." She said. I rolled my eyes and said 'what', even though it'd probably be a waste of my time. "I found THE most amazing thing known to man. Wait for it, here it comes... Root beer float flavored gum."

I raised an eyebrow. Then I just shook my head and chuckled. "Here! Try some!" Madge exclaimed and tries shoving the gum in my mouth happily.

Seriously?

And Annie wasn't doing anything about it?

After about a war later, I finally chewed the 'oh-so-amazing-root-beer-flavored-gum' as Madge would probably say.

"This isn't drugged, right?" I asked nervously.

"Of course NOT, silly!" She laughed.

The gum surprisingly DID taste like a root beer float would. Seriously. It's pretty good, and pretty darn addicting. Wait, maybe Madge did drug it...

Nah, she didn't...

...Right?

She couldn't.

She wouldn't.

I'M SUPPOSED TO BE HER BEST FRIEND.

Anyways, I quickly turned my head and saw Clove entering. I waved at her, then gestured her to come here.

Clove eyed Annie's scones.

I just shook my head, and smiled. "Come on, Clove, I'll buy you some scones," I say, still smiling.

"Yay!" She clapped her hands and jumped up and down. Very un-Clove like, yet very amusing.

After I paid for the scones, and got a coffee for Madge, I sat down and continued to chat with my beloved friends.

Well, we were 'debating' rather than 'chatting.'

"Nuh-uh!" I whisper-shouted.

"Yeah-huh!" Annie threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Cupcakes are CLEARLY better than donuts, Annie!" Clove shouted.

"Shut up, Clove!" Madge stuck her tongue out. "Have you ever been to Krispy Kreme? Have you ever had the donuts there?"

I swear, we were all turning to children.

"No." Clove said, flatly, and not amused.

"Of course! That just about explains everything!"

"Okay." Clove continued to speak, sounding very bored.

"You don't know what a REAL donut tastes like," Madge continued.

"No, apparently not, rolled her eyes.

"Come on Madge, please explain to me; when was the last time you've had a delicious," I pause for dramatic effect. "Cake," Pause. "In a cup-shaped goodness with frosting, and sprinkles on top?"

Madge's mouth is watering; I can tell.

I quickly move my head to look at Annie. "What about you, Ann? When was the last time you've had the delicious piece of heaven we humans call a cupcake?" I pause. "Hmm?"

Clove and I grin, and see that we've left Annie and Madge dumbfounded.

"Um, hello?" Clove waves a hand in front of their faces.

Annie starts thrashing around, but doesn't scream.

And I'm the one that supposedly needs therapy.

"Annie," Clove whispers. "Cut it out before you make a scene!"

I don't know how, but that worked.

"Okay." Annie smiled.

...

I'm just going to pretend that didn't happen...

"'Kay, guys, I'm heading home," I say, standing up. "See y'all tomorrow." And with that, I leave.

* * *

"Hey, Peeta," I greet. "Want some scones?" I say, shoving the bag up his face.

"Okay, I guess," He takes the bag. Peeta takes a scone, eats it, and says, "Mm, thanks." I just smile.

"Want to go take a walk?" Peeta suggests.

"Sure." I shrug.

We end up entering a park, and I, being my inner child, start sliding down the slides, and going through the monkey bars in an extreme monkey-fashion.

Peeta just sits in the bench near me, and raises an eyebrow. I grin.

After a while, I just sit down on the playground, not even doing anything anymore, and I see a girl walk up to Peeta.

I can just barely hear their conversation, as the jealousy builds up in me.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold the phone; why am I jealous? I don't even like Peeta that way. Go ahead, let him talk to her.

All of a sudden, I get a text. From Peeta.

'_Can you be my fake-girlfriend?'_

'..._What._' I reply.

'_Please, Katniss! I told this girl I had a girlfriend accidentally. She might go away if she believes our brilliant acting.'_

I found myself very relieved knowing he didn't like her. So I walked up to him.

"Hey, cutie." I kiss Peeta's cheek.

"Who's this?" The girl asked with an attitude that made me want to strangle her.

"This," Peeta gave me a peck on the lips, which made me surprisingly happy."Is my girlfriend, Katniss." I grinned, and snuggled up to him on the bench. He put his arm around me.

The girl's eyes widened. "Oh, uh, sorry. Oh! Look at the time! My dad needs me for—" She ran away.

"Weird girl." I say pointing a finger in her direction. He nodded.

I rested my head on his shoulder. Then I realized I was still snuggled up to him, and he still had his arms around me...

He must've realized this too, and we detached ourselves from each other. But I must say, I was slightly disappointed.

"Thanks, you really saved me there," Peeta smiled sheepishly.

"Of course!" I said, scratching the back of my head.

Awkward silence.

Peeta finally broke it, "Do you want me to walk you home?"

"Um, yes please."

.

.

.

A/N: Can you believe this took me TWO HOURS to write? It's literally 6:45 AM now, so I've managed to spend the whole night up. I've done that only a million times before, but I haven't stayed up in a while, so I did that today:)

Sorry if the chapter is short. I hope it's long, but I don't know since I'm using my iPod, so...

ANYWAYS, I hoped you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, review! Seriously, I just love getting emails saying I have a new review! (All you authors out there know what I'm talking about) So yeah! Peace everyone, I'll try to update next chapter sooner. :)

Note: Okay, now I just finished editing, it is now 7:25... And I automatically hate the Copy and Paste thing. First it takes me 2 hrs. to write—er—type—and an extra hour to edit and stuff. :( LOL this was just a random note, huh?


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to update and stuff, but school started, and well, I'm a mess. I haven't even updated Spring Break yet, which I feel SO INCREDIBLY bad about.

Lol, a lot of you guys just wanted to have Peeta to ask out Katniss already ;D... Well, you'll have to remember guys, I can't rush things, since this is is only like , what, the seventh chapter? But you'll just have to keep reading...

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games.

.

.

.

Previously...

I rested my head on his shoulder. Then I realized I was still snuggled up to him, and he still had his arms around me...

He must've realized this too, and we detached ourselves from each other. But I must say, I was slightly disappointed.

"Thanks, you really saved me there," Peeta smiled sheepishly.

"Of course!" I said, scratching the back of my head.

Awkward silence.

Peeta finally broke it, "Do you want me to walk you home?"

"Um, yes please."

.

.

.

Ever since what happened yesterday, I became nervous around Peeta. I got this weird feeling in my stomach, that I truly despise. I can't stop thinking about him, and...and... WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?

I'm turning into a total girl. No joke.

I sigh.

I head over to Madge's house—by using the bridge, of course.

The bridge is pretty fancy.

Close your eyes for a second, and imagine the coolest, most epic treehouse ever. But like, thinner, and stuff. And there you have it. THAT is the Tunnel to Narnia.

I enter her room.

"Maadge!" I shout.

I hear hands pounding on a piano, as if the player is frustrated. I hear a groan.

I follow the noise and see Madge in front of sitting in front of it, rubbing her temples.

She notices I'm here. "Oh, hey." Madge rubs her eyes, and gives a sleepy smile.

"Hey," I pick up a song sheet. "So, whatcha been up to?"

"I've been trying to learn this song. It's taking me FOREVER to learn it." She sighs.

I bite my lip. "Hold on."

I run downstairs quietly, head towards the kitchen, I grab a banana, then run back up to her room.

I shove the banana up her face. "Eat."

Madge looks at me strangely, than shrugs it off, and takes a bite of the banana after she peels it.

"Bananas help. A lot. And are supposed to be better than apples."

"Ah. I see."

"Yup." I pop the 'p' in 'yup'.

"So," Madge grinned at me. "I see you've been using the bridge?"

I just nod.

"Okay, well, I'm going home now so...bye." I tell her as I walk towards the bridge.

"See ya."

As soon as I step out of the window, I hear the piano being smashed on by hands. "STUPID PIANO!" I heard Madge say. I chuckle.

Oh, classic Madge.

.

.

.

The next day, at school, I try my best to avoid Peeta. I have to admit though, I kind of miss him.

I walk to my locker at lightning speed (What sucks is that you can't run. It's a horrible rule), and I see Finnick and Annie talking a bit.

Unfortunately, Finnick is leaning on MY locker, and even worse, Annie is giggling like an idiot.

Knowing I pretty much I have to come to Annie's rescue, I walk over to them. "Hey guys," I say, and shove Finnick towards Annie, instead of my locker. "So, what's up?"

Annie grins, and I'm trying my best to not roll my eyes and scoff at her. "Finnick was just telling me about this dude in his neighborhood, and how he drives his car every single morning on every single street to show off his new convertible. Isn't that so funny?"

I give her a fail of an attempt of a smile, and I weakly laugh. "Hilarious."

I grab my stuff, shut the locker, and rush to gym class.

I like my teacher. She's really cool and easy going.

Clove, Madge and I have this class together, and I am SO grateful for that.

I opened my locker, and put my stuff in there. I changed out of my clothes and put my uniform on.

I hung my other clothes in the locker, and shut it. I twirled the lock, and turned around, and I see Clove and Madge with their arms crossed.

"Have you been avoiding him?" Clove asks with an eyebrow raised.

"Who?" I say innocently and sit on the bench.

"You know who we're talking about—Peeta." Madge explains.

My eyes widen. "Peeta? Pfft. No! I haven't been," I cough awkwardly. "Avoiding him..."

"Oh my gosh, Katniss, you are the worst liar ever," Clove shakes her head disapprovingly.

"It's really sad," Madge whispers to Clove, who nods in agreement.

"Don't avoid him, Peeta's a good person." Clove says warningly.

"Yeah, he asked where you were like a BILLION times today," Madge tells me. "And there's no point in hiding from him, anyway. He's in our gym class..."

I mentally facepalm myself. Of course he is! How did I forget that? But...he asked where I was? Like a 'BILLION times'?

I sigh. "Fine. I won't avoid him..."

"Good." Madge says with a grin while Clove smiles smugly.

.

.

.

"Hey, Peeta," I say, while the foreign feeling in my stomach comes back, and my heart starts beating wildly.

"Hey! I've been looking for you since after math," He says. "Did something happen?"

"Oh, no, nothing did. I just...didn't want to get to my classes late." I bite my lip. Peeta can tell I'm lying, but he just shrugs it off.

"Okay." Then he walks off to his friends.

I groan mentally, and rub my temples.

.

.

.

"So...how is it with you and Finnick?" I ask Annie.

She grins widely. "HE ASKED ME OUT! EEP! We're going to a sushi place Saturday!"

"That's cool."

"I KNOW, RIGHT!" Annie screams in my ear.

Oh my God, Annie. SHUT UP.

"So, what's up with you and Peeta?" Annie then asks.

I groan. "Well, there was this girl yesterday, flirting with Peeta. He texted me and asked me to be his fake girlfriend to get the girl to go away. I snuggled up to him, he put his arm around me, we sort of kissed, etcetera." I avoid eye contact. "But it was JUST PRETEND. Nothing more."

Annie smiles. "Of course."

"But now, I get kind of nervous, and this weird feeling in my stomach when I'm around him...what's going on?" I ask.

She giggles. "Kat...you have a crush on him!"

.

.

.

A/N: There it is. Okay, well I did update Spring Break after all. I am SO tired. It's 1:31 AM right now. So, yeah. Sorry it's short, I'm using the Copy and Paste thing again. I still hate it. It makes me have weird auto-corrects. Last chapter, there was a DYAC moment in the A/N and it wrote 'onion.'

...

So if there's any mistakes, SORRY!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Okay. Hi guys. I JUST saw The Avengers, and it was TOTAL AWESOMENESS. My mom said it's better than The Hunger Games and I started screaming at her in public how "THE HUNGER GAMES IS LITERALLY THE BEST MOVIE EVER."

So um...yeah.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games.

* * *

Previously...

"But now, I get kind of nervous, and this weird feeling in my stomach when I'm around him...what's going on?" I ask.

She giggles. "Kat...you have a crush on him!"

* * *

"What? N-No—No I don't!" My eyes widen. "I-I can't. We—we're just friends. Nothing more. And...and...we're just...URGH! I can't deal with this right now," I slam my locker shut and storm out of there, and straight to my math class.

I can't like Peeta—I just can't. I know he likes me, but he needs a girl who can...like...him back properly.

What am I saying? I don't...I don't even like him that way! We're just friends!

Just... friends.

The fact breaks my heart a bit at the fact, but I try to ignore it.

Annie can't just automatically assume that I like Peeta because I don't. I don't like Peeta, and may never will. Maybe.

If we have a relationship, that just might ruin our friendship! And I can't afford that... And maybe I do like him—but I can't risk getting my heart broken. I will not let that happen. Peeta doesn't seem like a person to do that, though. And he HAS admitted that he likes me...

I enter Ms. Gold's room and sit down, mumbling things to myself about my situation and playing with my fingers.

That's when I remember PEETA's in this class.

"Shit!" I blurt out, very loudly.

"Ms. Everdeen, this is your SEVENTH time screaming out profanities. Go to the principal's office." Mrs. Gold says flatly, rolling her eyes as if she's bored with speaking to me.

Then I realize, 'maybe I'll just ditch this period and just hang out with Haymitch...'

I practically run out of the room and head straight for Haymitch's office.

"Oh, hello, sweetheart. Always a pleasure to see you," He gulps a large sip of his liquor.

I say nothing and head towards his couch, and bury my face in the pillows.

"You okay?" I once again say nothing. "Okay, you have to tell me now or I'll call your mother and tell her how you got in trouble—even though you haven't even told me..." Haymitch chuckles, and takes another sip.

"I...I don't know what happened." I say honestly.

"O...Kay...?" He walks over to me, and grunted as he took a seat on the couch.

"Sweetheart, I can't help you if you 'don't know what happened'," Haymitch mimics.

"Peeta likes me," I face him. "And—you know, I feel kind uncomfortable talking to you about this stuff,"

He shrugs and is about to take another sip of his alcohol only to find out there's no more left. Haymitch sighs, then says, "I don't mind."

"Okay, well, it all started with the school dance we had a month ago," I start. I tell him the whole story to him from that moment, to now. I end with, "And now... I'm here."

Haymitch snorts. "You're so stupid,"

"What?!" I shout. "I am not!"

"You are, actually," He chuckles.

"I'm not stupid!"

"Well, then let's look at you're grades," He says with a smirk. Haymitch takes out a binder, flips to a few pages, stops, then starts humming as he looks for my name.

"Hm, hm, hm, hmm...ah! Everdeen comma Katniss," Haymitch burps. "You have all A's except for math; you have a B." He shuts the binder and puts it away.

"Well, I guess you're not THAT stupid, but socially, well, you're not even brighter than a couch!" I huff, and roll my eyes.

The door opens, and I immediately leap behind the giant TV (there are like three TV's in Haymitch's office).

Haymitch chuckles, and I can hear him mutter under his breath, "Katniss the Squirrel." which makes me want to slap him across the face.

"Um, Haymitch? Ms. Gold wants Katniss back to class," It's Peeta. Damn it! "Where is she, anyway?"

"Oh, she's in the bathroom. She's on her period and has to take care of 'things'," Haymitch grins.

"...Oh..." Which makes Haymitch laugh hard. I shoot up the middle finger at Haymitch, making sure Peeta doesn't see myself, or 'the finger', and when Haymitch does see it, he laughs even harder.

I might as well show up now, since I can't let Peeta fall for Haymitch's stupid comments.

"I hate you, Haymitch," I mutter under my breath.

"BWAHAHA!" I scowl, and sit down on the couch.

"Oh, um, hi Katniss," Peeta says uneasily.

You see what you've done, Haymitch?! You've made him uncomfortable when you told him about my period! And it's supposed to start in four days, anyway!

"Peeta, Gaybitch is being an idiot, don't listen to him," I whisper to him.

Peeta grins. "You have a nickname for every teacher, don't you? First Mrs. Freakyface, and then Gaybitch?" I nod, grinning. "Of course."

"Seriously though; we have to get to class," Peeta tells Haymitch who just nods.

Peeta grabs my arm, and leads me in the opposite direction of math, avoiding the cameras, of course.

"Where are we going?" I ask cautiously. Maybe he'll kidnap me. Maybe he'll rape me. But, he's supposed to be my friend!

My eyes widen, "Peeta, tell me where we're going,"

"Let's just say we're NOT going to class... Are you hungry?" He asks. My rumbling stomach answers his question.

"I guess you are." He chuckles.

* * *

Peeta orders food for him and I. He says that I need to try the burgers "because they're the most AMAZING things ever created." With curly fries, because I just like them better than straight fries.

"I'll take two of the special burgers, no cheese on both of them, two orders of curly fries, a milkshake, and two medium sized Coca Colas."

"Okay," The girl taking the orders grin. "That'll be $16.87...you can just go ahead and pay up front,"

The girl taking our orders has light brown hair in a messy ponytail and light blue eyes, and pale skin. Her teeth have been recently whitened and her skin is flawless, and she has a beautiful smile, and also looks like she's happy all the time. She has an English accent, and her name tag says 'Emma'.

I hate her already.

"Thanks," Peeta says.

"Mhm." Emma winks at Peeta, and walks off. I scowl, but I make sure Peeta doesn't see it, and he doesn't.

Moments later, that stupid Emma comes back with our cokes, and she takes a seat next to Peeta and whispers in his ear, "Is there anything else I can do for you?" trying to be seductive, which unfortunately works.

Peeta smiles and says, "Nope. We're good."

"We?" She then asks. I cough awkwardly, and Emma looks at me. "Oh! Are you two friends?"

We don't answer.

"You wouldn't mind if I maybe," She starts stroking Peeta's arm, which makes me roll my eyes. "Take him out to dinner sometime?"

"Um, um...she's actually my girlfriend!" Peeta says gesturing to me with a wide smile on his face. He jumps out of his seat and sits next to me, wrapping an arm around my waist.

"That's right!" I say, grinning. "You wouldn't mind if you, maybe, go get our food sometime?" Emma scowls at me, and I just grin wider.

Emma leaves, and we both let out of sigh of relief.

"Sorry for playing the girlfriend card again," Peeta apologizes. I shrug.

"It's totally fine. She was kind of stupid and a bit too irritating for my taste,"

Peeta freezes, looks at me, and puts on the biggest smirk/grin I've ever seen. "Are you JEALOUS, Katniss?"

"What?" I scowl.

"Are you JEALOUS?"

"Jealous? No! I'm not jealous!"

"Right, right..."

"...Accuse me of being jealous ever again and I will literally shoot you with a bow and arrow right in the eye," Peeta gulps. "And I don't miss," I whisper in his ear which makes his eyes widen.

Satisfied, I relax in my seat with a smirk on my face, when Emma comes and gives us our food. She looks at me once, and I scowl at her. Her eyes widen in fear, and she scurries off.

"I think I'm scaring her," I say, smiling smugly.

"And you're proud of that?" He asks me, mirth evident in his eyes.

"I am."

Peeta sighs, rubs his temples, and mutters, "Of course," Which makes me laugh a little.

"I'm going to go get a refill...do you want me to refill your cup as well?" I ask Peeta.

"Yes, please." I grab his cup and mine, and go over to the sodas and start refilling our cups.

All of a sudden, I feel eyes boring into the back of my head. I turn around and see Emma staring at me, giving me a dirty look. I roll my eyes.

Okay, I get it. I TOTALLY get it. She doesn't think we're a couple now, does she? Well...we're not...but still, she has to believe us or she's never going to leave Peeta alone, and will probably keep him for life, all to herself!

Whoa. Maybe I am jealous...

No. I'm not jealous. I can't be. We're not actually together.

This has to be the effects of acting. It is! I'm playing a girl who is Peeta's girlfriend, and Peeta is playing a boy who is MY boyfriend, and as an actress, I have to be in character, and by being 'the girlfriend', I'm supposedly jealous of Emma.

Well, if we're acting, I need to give Emma a show; to prove that Peeta and I are 'dating'.

I finish refilling both of our cups, and walk over to Peeta and I's table. I slam the cups on the table.

"Oh, hey-" I interrupt him by pressing my lips against his. He freezes for a moment, but his soft lips start moving with mine.

I open my left eye a smidge, to the point where it's squinting, and see Emma infuriated. I mentally high five myself. I shut my left eye again and focus on kissing Peeta.

That's when it hit me.

I'm kissing Peeta.

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh.

And he's kissing me back... OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH.

How could I have been so stupid? I never wanted to have THIS happen! And WHY aren't I pulling away? Why is it that I don't want to? Why do I keep asking questions? Why?!

Peeta's warmth travels through my body, causing sparks along the way, and makes me feel an explosion of different emotions.

Look at me, being all poetic.

How on EARTH can Peeta and I hold our breaths so long?

FINALLY, we both pull away, panting hard, and we just stare at each other. When my breathing returns to normal, I get up and say, "I gotta go," Peeta stops me by grabbing my wrist.

"I'm sorry,"

"Why are YOU sorry? I'm the one who started this whole thing," I sigh. "Haymitch is right; I am pretty stupid."

"Don't EVER say that again. You're not stupid; and for Haymitch to say that, well, it makes HIM stupid. And besides, he was drinking...he might've been drunk,"

"Maybe," I shrug. "But maybe not,"

"Sorry I kissed you," I look down shyly.

"Sorry?" Peeta moves closer to me. He probably figures out the reason, and says, "I knew you were jealous," with a smirk.

"I WASN'T JEALOUS!" I defended.

"Then why did you kiss me?"

I stay silent, which makes Peeta's smirk grow wider.

"You were totally jealous," He muttered casually, and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.

* * *

Third Person POV:

"Katniss!" Annie shouted. "Where are you-Oh!" Annie froze when she saw Katniss kissing Peeta.

She smiled to herself.

'She finally realizes she loves him,' Annie thought to herself with a grin on her face.

Katniss pulled away and the two started talking kind of...awkwardly? Yes. Definitely.

Now Peeta all of a sudden has a small smirk on his face as he leans back into a chair, looking rather smug. Katniss is defending herself, but then again, when ISN'T she defending herself?

"Probably never," Annie said aloud.

She walked into the 50's diner turned restaurant all casual-like, and ordered some food from a girl named Emma, who was clearly angry.

"...and I'll take a milkshake... Are you okay?" Annie asked as she turned her head to the side.

"...No. See that bitch over there?" Emma pointed towards Katniss who was laughing happily because Peeta was messing around with his fries.

"Katniss is not a bitch! She's my best friend!" Annie exclaimed loud enough for only Emma to hear.

"Well, anyway, I tried FLIRTING with that boy over there because I thought he was single, you know?" Annie nodded, but inside she was snickering, though she tried to show some empathy. "Well then that girl, Katniss, you say? Tried shoving up the information that 'Oh, I'M Peeta's girlfriend!' to me!"

"Oh... Well I just wanted some food, so..." Annie bites her lip and looks around.

"Oh, sorry about that," She repeats my order, and when Annie nods, she yells, "Order up!"

Annie was startled when she felt a figure wrap their arms around her waist. She started to tremble. She looked behind her and saw her beloved Finnick.

"Oh, Finnick!" Annie wrapped her arms around his neck and he kissed the top of her head. "You scared me for a moment, don't do that,"

"Sorry," He muttered, scratching the back of his head. "Hey, let's go sit next to Katniss and Peeta,"

"Okay," Annie grinned. "Did you know that they kissed?"

"They did?"

"Mhmm." Finnick smirked as he heard her confirmation. He thought of thousands of ways how he can tease Peeta now.

He held her delicate hand and they walked to their best friends' table.

Katniss's POV:

"Annie! Finnick! Nice to see you both," Peeta greeted with his usual smile.

"Hey guys, do you mind if we sit here, too?" Annie asked.

"Not all all," Peeta gestured for them to sit, so they did.

"So Peeta, are you and Katniss a thing?" Finnick smirked.

I hesitated, and I saw that he did too. "What made you think that?" He asked anxiously.

"Oh, just saw you two, eating together," I let out a sigh of relief. "Kissing together," Annie mumbled the last part.

"Annie!" I exclaimed. "We're not really a couple. We just did it to prove to Emma that Peeta's taken, because she kept FLIRTING with him and was being super obnoxious and was going to steal him away from me-us-um," I coughed awkwardly.

"Aw, how cute! Kitty Kat was jealous of Peeta!" Finnick grinned.

"I was not!" I shouted at him.

"Yes you were."

"She totally was," Peeta murmured.

"It sure sounds like it," Annie snickers.

"You guys suck," I buried my face in my hands, too embarrassed to say anything else.

Thankfully, my phone vibrated to save me from this embarrassement. It was a text message. From Madge.

Madge: Hey, where are you?

I immediately typed back.

Katniss: Just hanging out with Peeta, Annie and Finnick.

Madge: Awh, spending time with your boyfriend and friends? I get it. You know I'm still at school? I'm jealous. I'm totally ditching once this period ends.

Katniss: Okay. Well, we're at that place-Amy's 50's Dinner

Madge: Kay. I'll try to get Clove to come too.

Katniss: K. Peace.

"Okay, here's your food," Emma said as she laid down Annie and Finnick's food.

"Oh, you're cute," She said to Finnick.

"OH HELL NO, BITCH." Annie and I screamed at her.

"What? I'm just saying he's cute," Emma shrugged.

"Just walk away..." Annie said, gesturing her to go. She does, and Annie pouts. "She needs to quit stealing our boyfriends!"

"Peeta's not my boyfriend." I tell her.

"You kissed him." She defends.

"Yeah, well it was acting."

"Right..."

"URGH!" I slam my head against the table.

"Yesh, Kat, you need to calm down," Madge says as she takes a seat next to us. I groan. "So, what's going on?"

"Katniss kissed Peeta." Finnick smirks.

"Oh my gosh, SHE DID?! AND I MISSED IT?! Katniss, you didn't tell me you guys are together! Quick! Kiss again! I wanna take a picture!" Madge exclaims as she grabs her phone and sets it to take a picture.

"Madge, we're not-" I try to protest, but Emma comes over to check on us. "Yes, we are!" I kiss Peeta on the cheek. Madge snaps a picture which makes me mentally roll my eyes.

Annie kisses Finnick to show her that Finnick's hers. Emma rolls her eyes, and walks away.

"I'm going to get a refill. Fin, come with me?" He nods.

"Katniss, look at this picture! You guys look so cute together!" Madge shoves the phone in my face.

The picture has perfect lighting (and is in HD), the camera is sort of tilted, I'm kissing Peeta's cheek, and Peeta looks at me with a soft smile and a look of...longing?

It's perfect.

"Madge..." I start.

"Katniss, I know you don't like it, but-"

"Can you email it to me?" I ask. Both Madge and Peeta looked shocked. Madge nods.

"We're back!" Finnick tells us, placing the cups on the table.

"Look at this picture!" Madge shows the picture to Annie and Finnick.

"Aww, it's so cute!" Annie gushes. Even Finnick smiles.

"You guys NEED to date," Madge tells us.

"Thanks Madge for making decisions for me." I say flatly.

That's when I notice Peeta hasn't said anything in a while. "You okay?" I nudge him.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine, I was just thinking." He tells me with a shrug.

"About what?" I ask.

"Just...things," I decide not to pry, so I stop there.

"Annie, you have to go to that thing with your mom!" Finnick tells her.

"Oh, right! I totally forgot. Guys, I have to go. See ya later," Annie waves.

"Bye, Annie," I wave back and everyone does the same. Finnick leaves with her.

"I better get back to class; I'm going to get in huge trouble with my dad if I don't," She waves.

Peeta and I both say, "Bye, Madge,"

I rest my head against Peeta's shoulder.

"What do you want for Christmas?" He then asks me.

I look at him strangely. "Christmas isn't until three months,"

"I know. I just want to know what you want in advance."

I roll my eyes. "Um... I don't know what I want," I shrug. "What do YOU want?"

"Nothing."

"YOU ARE A LIAR!" I shout.

"No I'm not," Peeta says.

"Yeah, right. Because when someone says they don't want something, they DO want something-wait, why are we talking about this? We're not even near Christmas. Well, we kind of are, but not really. I mean, it's just three months, but that doesn't really mean anything, so-" I'm cut off by Peeta kissing me.

* * *

A/N: CUH-LIFF-HANGER! Okay, so I really hate typing on my iPod but I for some reason can't stop... SO, SORRY FOR TYPOS!

I just felt like I should add twists and cliffy's and stuff. Katniss really does get jealous, huh?

Katniss: *shoots arrow*

Me: *Dodges* SORRY! YOU'RE...NOT JEALOUS...?

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to review! I love you all since you gave me 80+ REVIEWS. HUGS FOR EVERYONE.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **_Epic fail. EPIC. FAIL. I am SO sorry. I understand if you guys hate me right now, because I kind of hate myself too. I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN FOREVER. There's just been so much school and work and schoolwork, and stalking my crush who could be the twin of Peeta Mellark. Plus, I've had a serious case of writer's block. But thankfully, I have a three-day weekend! :D _

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own the Hunger Games._

* * *

_**Previously…**_

_"What do you want for Christmas?" He then asks me._

_I look at him strangely. "Christmas isn't until three months,"_

_"I know. I just want to know what you want in advance."_

_I roll my eyes. "Um... I don't know what I want," I shrug. "What do YOU want?"_

_"Nothing."_

_"YOU ARE A LIAR!" I shout._

_"No I'm not," Peeta says._

_"Yeah, right. Because when someone says they don't want something, they DO want something-wait, why are we talking about this? We're not even near Christmas. Well, we kind of are, but not really. I mean, it's just three months, but that doesn't really mean anything, so-" I'm cut off by Peeta kissing me._

* * *

It's unexpected. I don't even realize what's going on until I hear someone calling my name repeatedly. _What just happened? _I ask myself. I feel dizzy.

"Katniss?"

"Katniss?"

"_Katniss."_

I blink repeatedly. "Wh…what?"

"Are you okay?"

My brain is slow, but I finally pick up who's talking to me.

Peeta Mellark.

Why does he have to confuse my whole entire life?

"Are you okay?" He repeats.

"Oh. Um, yeah. I'm fine. Just a little dizzy." I say. Peeta grins at my last sentence.

"Dizzy?"

"I guess," I mumble and look away, "we should probably um, get back to school and stuff…"

"Sure."

* * *

"Ms. Everdeen." Ms. Gold says strictly. "Ms. Everdeen, are you even listening? Oh, why am I not surprised?" She rubs her temples. It's like I've forgotten how to speak. Nothing comes out of my mouth, and I just stare at her. She eventually continues on with the lesson, glaring at me every so once in a while.

By the time the class is over, Ms. Gold calls me over. "Katniss," I look back at her. "Come here, please." I walk over to her slowly.

"I'm afraid you're failing this class."

I nod and walk away. Lunch starts and instead of eating, I go over to the bathroom and inside a stall and cry. I hear Madge's name. "Kat…Kat…Kat, are you in here?" I wipe my tears and try hold back any new tears and try to look like I'm not crying. I step out of the stall.

"Katniss, are you okay?" She asks me with a concerned expression.

I lose it there. She hugs me and pats my back saying, "It's okay," while I sob into her shoulder. She waits for me to calm down and for my hiccups to die down. "So what's wrong?"

"Peeta…I'm failing math…Life is so confusing." I tell her. She nods and pats my shoulder. "Why did he have to appear in our lives? Why couldn't he just let the car hit me instead of him?"

"Katniss!"

"I'm sorry. No, I'm sorry. Can we just go back to lunch?"

"Yes."

We walk together and enter the lunchroom. Madge pulls out tissues out of her purse and hands them to me, and I wipe my eyes, not even realizing we're passing Peeta's table, which is three tables down from ours. We sit down.

"Katniss, what happened to you?" Clove asks with furrowed eyebrows. Madge puts a finger over her lips and shh's her. Clove nods.

"I want to go home," I murmur.

"Yeah. We all do." Clove tells me. "So…are you going to eat?"

"No."

"C'mon, Kitty, don't starve. Let's eat." Madge smiles.

"We already ate, though. Or at least I did." I say.

"Well, okay, then. I'm going to get me some food." She licks her lips and runs over to a lunch line.

Of course.

"Where's Annie?" Clove asks me.

"She and Finnick had to go do something with her mom or something." I tell her.

Clove grins. "Annie and Finnick, huh?"

"Yeah. I guess they're officially a couple now. I saw them hug and kiss and stuff earlier." I smile softly.

"Okay. We need to make a couple name for them now." She smiles.

"Um, okay. How about…" I bite my lip. "Fannie?"

"Or Annick."

We pause.

"Fannie," We both agree and laugh. Madge skips back to us with a spicy chicken sandwich and cookie.

"So what's going on?" She asks as she sits down.

"Clove and I made a couple name for Finnick and Annie."

"Ooh, what is it?" She grins.

"Fannie." Clove tells her. Madge nods and takes a bite out of her sandwich, and then once she swallows, she takes a bite of the cookie.

"When she gets back to school, let's tease her about this nonstop." We all giggle and wait for lunch to end.

* * *

Peeta's absent for the rest of the week. And the longer he's gone, the more I miss him. Like, I _really _miss him.

The weather has been changing too. Surprisingly, it's snowing, and we haven't even reached December yet.

It has actually been snowing for a few days now. And I love it. It's my favorite weather and I just want to be all cliché and sit in my house by the fireplace and drink hot chocolate while wearing a comfy sweater, sweatpants, and furry boots.

But I can't enjoy it. As much as I want to, I just can't. Not without thinking of Peeta and how much I miss him. Where the heck _is_ he?

Madge, Clove, Annie and I have a sleepover. Halloween has passed and everyone's already getting into Christmas, and ignoring the fact that Thanksgiving is closer, just as I predicted.

Annie shreds piles of paper and we all go and throw it in the air, as if it is snow, and we make paper-angels. We watch romantic movies like Pride and Prejudice (**A/N: **_LOVE LOVE LOVE THAT MOVIE) _and scream at Elizabeth for not loving Mr. Darcy when he professes his love for her_. _We make cupcakes and ice them with vanilla frosting and lick the spoons. We talk, talk, and talk for hours. Then we start talking boys.

"So…we all know Annie likes Finnick…Katniss likes Peeta—" Madge says and I try to object, but she continues. "But we don't know who Clove likes."

"No one."

"Liar."

"I'm not lying."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"You have to like someone."

"I like my mom and dad."

"That doesn't count."

"Why do always assume that everyone likes someone?" Clove tells her. "Who do _you _like, Madge? I'll tell you who I like if you tell me who you like."

"So you _do _like someone?"

"Just answer me."

"Fine. I… I sort of like Gale Hawthorne."

"Gross." Clove laughs. "Nah, I'm just kidding." Madge 'hmphs.' "Yeah, I like Cato."

"Oh, that tall dude with the blond hair?" Annie giggles and wrinkles her nose. "You like _him?_"

"Yeah…" Clove muttered shyly.

"But…But he's so scary!" She laughs.

"Yeah, but so is Clove." I say and we all laugh. "They're a perfect match."

After a moment of silence, Madge then says, "I want sushi."

"That's great, Madge."

"But I _need_ a California Roll…or five."

"We could go to that sushi place near Annie's house," I suggest.

"Okay. I'll drive," says Annie.

* * *

"Oh my God! Oh, my GOD! Look! Look! Over there!" Madge exclaims with wide eyes, jumping up and down and pointing in the direction opposite of me.

"What is it, Madge?" I ask, starting to get worried for her mentally.

"Gale Hawthorne," She whispers in my ear. I look over behind me and see him _and_ of course, Cato and Finnick.

Still no Peeta.

Where has that boy _gone?_ And without telling me? Aren't we friends? Without thinking, I grab my phone and start texting quickly, '_Where are you?' _to Peeta. I immediately press send.

"Who're you texting?" Annie says, startling me. I quickly put my phone in my back pocket.

"Uh, no one."

She raises an eyebrow, but then shakes her head slightly. "Hey, have you seen Peeta recently?"

"Um, Peeta? No, I haven't. No," I reply anxiously, "why? Do you know where he is?"

"Oh, yeah, I think he moved to another district or something." She tells me.

"_WHAT?!"_

"No, I'm just kidding. I actually don't know where he is." She laughs. "You were just texting him, weren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe you should ask Finnick. They're best friends, after all. I could come with you," she tells me.

"Okay. But you're talking." I say. She nods and we start walking, and Clove and Madge join us in the direction of their crushes.

"Hey, Finnick." Annie greets.

"Oh, hey guys." He smiles. "So what brings you all here?"

"Hi, Gale!" Madge waves excitedly, then widens her eyes, and shakes her head in embarrassment.

"Hey, Madge," Gale smiles.

"Clove." Cato nods in her direction.

"Cato." She also nods.

Annie then clears her throat, and says, "Um, Katniss and the rest of us have been wondering where Peeta is. Do you guys happen to know where?"

All of the guys' faces show a wounded look of jealousy, but they quickly recover and Cato says, "He's out of town. Taking an early vacation, I think, in the mountains or something. Peeta said he'd be back in about… Mm, I don't know, a few days, maybe? Yeah. I think so."

"So," Finnick's smirk makes me prepare myself for anything he has to say. "_Catfish_ has been wondering whereMellark is, huh?" I scowl at his new nickname for me, and Finnick laughs.

"I gotta go," I grumble and sit back in my seat, crossing my arms, only to hear Finnick laugh harder.

_CATFISH?!_

What kind of nickname is that?

Then again, Gale calls me Catnip when we're around each other.

But _Catfish?_

No. Just no.

* * *

Annie drives us back to my house and it's still snowing. When we get back inside, we turn on the news and it's predicted that a blizzard will soon hit.

"Oh, I love snow!" Annie grins and dances around the house. Clove, Madge and I just watch, all of us clearly amused.

Suddenly, the lights flashed off.

Madge and Annie screamed and Annie ran back over to us.

"What just happened?" Clove asks.

"The power went out," I say. All of us groaned.

"So we can't use our computers?" Madge frowned.

"Or watch TV?" Clove pouts.

I check the window and widen my eyes. "It's snowing pretty heavily out there, but not 'blizzard' heavily."

"Aw, so we're stuck here? No offense, Katniss, this place is awesome and all, but I miss my mom!" Madge flops on the couch and screams with a cracked voice into the pillow.

We all lie down in the living room in our sleeping bags. "Guys, it's starting to get cold in here," Clove says. "And we can't even turn on the heater."

I suddenly sit up and voiced my thoughts aloud, "How's Peeta going to get back here?" I look at my friends nervously. Annie sympathetically pats my shoulder. I whimper, and lie back down. Then I sit back up and run up stairs.

"Kat, where're you going?" Clove asks with a tilted head.

"I'm getting blankets; we're going to need them!" I shout as I get closer to the top. I grab all the blankets we have, all the pillows in the house (besides my mother's and Prim's, of course) and throw them all downstairs. I run back down the stairs, pick up all of my findings and drop them in the living room.

"So we can stay warm," I say. Everyone nods and we make little tents and stay in them for the rest of the night.

* * *

When mother came back from home, she saw our tents and said, "Aw, how cute!"

"MOM, WE'RE FREEZING!" I scream.

"Oh, that's nice, dear. I'm going upstairs." She marches up the stairs.

"Did she seriously just ignore my every word?" I ask, unable to believe the fact.

"Let's just try to get some sleep, and stay as warm as possible," Annie tells us. We all nod and fall asleep.

* * *

When we wake up, Annie looks somber.

"What's wrong, Ann?" I ask her.

She inhales a sharp breath and turns to me. "I miss him."

"Finnick?"

"Yeah."

"I miss Peeta." I confess. She gives me a sad smile.

"You know, Clove, Madge and I made a couple name for you and Finnick." I tell her.

She grins. "Really? What is it?"

"Fannie."

"Nice. I like it. Especially since my name is in it more than Finnick's is." She chuckles. "What about you and Peeta? I could make one up right now." I laugh and say 'okay.' "Mm…Oh, God, no."

"What?"

"Well, there is a bunch, but there are two I think you won't like especially."

"What are they?"

Annie clears her throat awkwardly and tells me, "Err, um, well there's Katpee."

"Gross."

"And there's Peeniss."

"Oh my gosh, that's disgusting."

"Yeah. It is."

"You know what? No couple names for me and him." I grimace. "But you know, I _really_ miss him."

"I know you do. But he'll be back soon." Annie says.

"And that blizzard will be here soon." I face her. "I just want him to be safe." She smiles.

"So, you guys kissed?" She asks me with a smirk.

I smile shyly. "Yeah…" She sits cross-legged.

"How was it?"

"It was…it was nice. I liked it. A lot. Might've loved it." Annie squeals at my answer and grins happily.

"How many times have you two kissed?"

"Um, I don't know, like, two times? Three times? Maybe more? I don't know." I say.

"All those times and you two are _STILL_ not dating? That's totally messed up." She scoffs. I roll my eyes and say 'shut up.'

The doorbell rings, and I immediately spring up shouting, "I GOT IT, MOM!" thinking that the person at the door could be Peeta.

When I open it, I frown, feeling disappointed. It's Cato and he asks if Clove's here. "Yeah, she's here… Wait, how do you know where I live?" Cato just walks into my house ignoring what I've said, and sees three shivering girls wrapped in blankets. He walks back by the door, and I'm left utterly confused.

"Finnick! Get over here!" He shouts. Before I know it, Finnick's in the house and he quickly runs over to Annie.

Cato then walks to me, and says, "I called their moms, and told them that I could bring them home."

"Okay."

"Annie could go with Finnick, I can go with Clove, if that's fine with her," He mutters.

"That's fine."

We wake up Clove and she smiles sleepily at the sight of Cato. Then her eyes widen and she jumps up before you can blink, and she shouts, "SHIT, I LOOK LIKE A MESS!" Cato tells her she looks fine and she smiles. He explains he'll take her to her house and she says okay, and they leave.

"Catfish," Finnick calls. I walk over to him scowling. "Peeta called… He said he'll be here tomorrow." My face breaks into a wide grin.

"Really?"

"Yup." He says, making the 'p' pop. I slightly squeal, and Finnick smirks. Then he and Annie start talking to each other and I don't pay attention. All I can think is _Peeta's coming back tomorrow._

* * *

The blizzard hits the next morning, and when no one's looking, I silently cry into my pillow, worried for Peeta's safety.

Madge and Annie haven't left yet. Madge _could_ use the bridge back to her house, but she says she'd rather stay here. Annie just likes being with us and Finnick hasn't left either, so as you can imagine, they won't stop talking to each other.

"Finnick, we have cupcakes, do you want some?" I yell from the kitchen.

"Yes, please!" He shouts back.

I walk into the living room and hand Finnick his cupcake. I walk into my tent to grab a blanket, and when I walk out, I see Finnick and Annie sharing the cupcake, Finnick putting vanilla icing on her nose as she laughs.

Total Fannie moment.

"So, are you guys official?" I ask with a small smirk on my face.

They both blush. "Oh, um, I guess. I don't know. Are we?" Finnick asks.

"Yes," Annie says calmly, but I can tell from the look on her face, she's holding in her excitement and is just dying to scream "YES!"

The doorbell rings and I, again, jump up and run over to the door.

"Easy, Kat, easy." Madge tells me with a smile playing on her lips.

I open the door, and again, to my disappointment, it's Madge's father asking if he could take her home. I tell him yes and Madge walks out of the door with her things.

And then there were three.

I bury my face in my arms, and Annie pats me on the back. "Don't worry, Kat. He'll be here soon."

I tell her, "Maybe," in a muffled voice. "I MISS HIM!"

"I knew you liked him!" Annie and Finnick both say in unison.

"Maybe I do. I just miss him." I frown.

* * *

After about an hour and thirty minutes, the doorbell rings again.

"It's probably Peeta," Finnick says, his arm wrapped around Annie's waist.

"Yeah, Kat, it probably is." She agrees.

"I don't know. Maybe not. It could be Gale. It could be mail." I say.

"Okay, then, I'll go get it." Annie shrugs and stands up. She opens the door and I just rest my head on my arms. "Katniss, it's for you!" She says with a grin. I sit up immediately with widened eyes and sprint for the door.

Then I see him.

His hair and clothes are covered in snow. His cheeks and the tip of his nose are light pink from the cold. He wears a brown coat and black pants and some boots. "Peeta!" I run over to him and jump on top of him, us landing in the snow.

"Katniss, you're not wearing a jacket, you'll get sick," He tells me with a grin. Peeta takes off his jacket and wraps it around me, but I press kisses all over his face.

"I missed you so much," I whisper.

"I missed you too," He says, "but we should probably get inside, Katniss, I'm freezing."

"Right." I nod. "Right."

We walk inside, Peeta's arm around me. Finnick and Annie grin at the sight of us together. Peeta presses his lips to mine and I eagerly kiss back.

We do this for about fifteen minutes.

"I've been so worried about you, Peeta, with the blizzard. Nothing happened on the way back, right? You're safe?"

"Yes, Katniss, for the billionth time, I'm fine," He smiles and kisses my forehead.

"Good."

I look towards Finnick and Annie and realize they've been watching with amused expressions. And Annie has been recording the whole thing. Peeta and I look at each other with smiles, and he presses his lips to mine with that kissing sound, and then pulls away. Annie stops recording and says, "AWW!" I sit on his lap and he plays with my hair.

"We should get some sleep." Annie says.

"Okay," I say. "Peeta, you can take Madge's tent, Finnick, you can take Clove's tent. I don't care which one."

"'Kay," They both say.

"Goodnight, Katniss! Goodnight, Peeta! Goodnight, Finnick!" Annie says.

"Goodnight."

* * *

**A/N: **_I owe you all this. I'M SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN THREE FREAKING MONTHS. I'll be updating my other stories tomorrow. I'm about to see Skyfall (the new James Bond movie…my dad is totally obsessed with the series) right now at the movies lol._

_BYE!(:_


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